Distance
by Crimson Mooon
Summary: If I would have known what I was in store for when I moved back to Mystic Falls, I probably would have turned around and walked away. However, standing there and looking at everyone, a part of me said differently. The worst part of it was that I knew if I hadn't met him, it wouldn't have mattered as much. All of it suddenly seemed worth it, even if no one else thought so. Klaus/OC


_I decided to give this a go! I haven't really read a lot of Klaus/OC, mainly because Klaroline is so popular. Anyway, please review if you get a chance. _

_This is going to take place in the beginning of season three, so Stefan is still with Klaus and high school just started again. I'm going to loosely follow the plot of the actual season three but when I say loosely, I mean LOOSELY. So we'll see! :)_

_-C_

* * *

**Distance**

_Chapter One_

I was in no way prepared for what was happening.

It wasn't as if I hadn't had time to think about it, because that wasn't the case. I had weeks to think about it, I had days and days to try to prepare myself for what was happening. Instead though, I had decided that ignoring the situation and acting like it wasn't happening would be better. I had taken the liberty to ignore reality and to act as if everything was alright.

I was wrong.

My chest tightened up with anxiety and my stomach dropped. I scanned over the area slowly, and couldn't shake the helpless feeling that started to spread through my throat and down to my fingertips. I took a deep breath to try to calm myself and mentally shook my head. I was making this too big of a deal – everything would be fine. I finally brought my eyes to look at the building that was in front of me; a strange sensation filled me, and just thinking about where I was standing made me feel bittersweet. My grey eyes watched as people walked through the double doors that led inside and I couldn't stop myself from wondering how different this was going to be.

I cracked my knuckles absentmindedly and then slowly took a step forward. There was no reason to keep procrastinating – I needed to get this over with.

Mystic Falls High.

I know that being so nervous because of a school seems stupid, but I couldn't help myself. I hadn't seen any of these people since the end of seventh grade, and I doubted that they remembered me. I had lived in Mystic Fall until I was thirteen, and then my family and I moved to Atlanta. Now I was back, and I couldn't even wrap my head around it.

"Ashley Jenson? Is that you?" A voice pulled me out of my babbling thoughts and I had to stop myself from jumping.

I turned around a little too quickly and stumbled backwards. A blonde boy with blue eyes was looking at me with what looked like amusement dancing in his eyes. He had on a letterman jacket and had his backpack thrown over his shoulder. I had to stare at him for a moment before I realized who I was looking at.

Matt Donovan.

I laughed, slightly relieved. "Oh my god! Matt Donovan?" My voice reached a pitch I wasn't used to and I stepped forward to hug him. "Wow! Look at you!" I exclaimed as he hugged me back.

"Look at me?" He shook his head while smiling, "Look at you!" We broke apart and he continued to stare at me, "How long has it been? Four or five years?"

I nodded, "Yeah, that sounds about right." I couldn't believe how much he had grown up. We were friends as kids, and I hadn't even bothered to keep in touch with everyone when I left, so seeing how much he had grown up was such a shock. I stared at him for a few more seconds before I finally looked away, slightly embarrassed.

"Do Elena and Bonnie know you're back?" He asked when an awkward silence settled over us.

I had to keep myself from sighing. I hadn't spoken to my old friends since I moved away, and I hadn't even tried to contact them when I got back last week. We had all grown up together, and I couldn't help but feel guilty for not trying to talk to them. I shook my head, "No, I haven't talked to them yet."

"They're gonna be so happy to see you." He grinned and then started to walk toward the school. "What's your first period?"

"Ummm," I rummaged through my bag that was holding some notebooks and binders I had bought and pulled out a pink piece of paper. "History with Saltzman."

"All right! We have history together! Mr. Saltzman is awesome, so don't worry." He reassured me as we walked through the hallway and toward the lockers.

I felt relieved. I hadn't expected someone to recognize me so quickly and I didn't expect it to be so easy to talk to anyone. Part of me felt like I had never left. Matt opened his locker and set his backpack on the floor in front of him. I looked around and tried to see if I saw anyone else I knew, but didn't have any luck.

"So, where's your sister?" I asked when I realized I probably wasn't going to see anyone. I saw Matt's face fall immediately and I was taken aback. He and Vicky had always been pretty close, so I didn't understand the sadness.

"She um…" He shook his head, "She passed away last year." I blinked like an idiot and felt my whole stomach drop. I stared at him for a moment and then casted my eyes to the ground. She passed away? How? I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"I – I'm so sorry." I was desperate for something to say, anything but it was like my vocabulary had been stripped down to nothing.

He smiled at me, "It's alright." When I looked back up at him he was smiling again, "Anyway, what brings you back to Mystic Falls?" He was looking at me like the subject of his sister hadn't even come up, and I felt so bad for him that it took me a minute to realize he had even asked me a question.

"Oh umm," I laughed nervously, not sure how to describe my situation. A tight sensation filled my chest and I had to brush it aside, "Xavier and I moved back, he said that he thought a small town would be a nice change." I kept a smile on my face and then leaned against the lockers.

Matt looked over at me confused, "You and your brother? What about your parents?" He closed his locker and then looked at me, and the feeling in my chest started to increase.

I felt my hand start to shake slightly and I shoved it in my pocket, "My dad passed away two years after I moved," I felt my throat tighten up and I gave a tight smile, "and my mother isn't…available right now."

He stared at me for a moment, and I prayed that he didn't ask me what I meant. "I'm sorry." He looked at the ground for a moment and then sighed, "It looks like it's not just Mystic Falls that's had trouble." I opened my mouth to ask what he meant, but before I could even get a word out the bell rang. Matt looked at me and it was then I saw a strange look in his eyes.

He looked exhausted, like he was on the verge of breaking.

"Well, we better get to class. Don't wanna be late on the first day." He winked at me and started to walk down the hallway. I followed him and walked by his side, trying to understand what he meant by his comment.

_It looks like it's not just Mystic Falls that's had trouble._

I had to think for a moment but something came to mind. I knew that Elena had lost her parents, and now I knew that Vicky Donovan was dead. I hadn't stayed too connected with my friends, but Xavier had stayed in touch with his, which is the only reason I knew about Elena's parents. It was hard to believe that in such a small town that bad things happened, but that was always the case. Bad things can happen anywhere, even in the smallest of places.

That might just be where the worst things happen.

"I think Elena and Bonnie have this class." Matt said over his shoulder. He stopped walking and I almost ran right into him. I stopped at the last second and kicked myself mentally for not paying more attention. He walked in and I followed, the feeling of anxiety settling over me again.

My eyes looked over the class quickly and without even having to really look I spotted my old friends. Elena was sitting right next to Bonnie; both of them were talking to each other so they didn't notice me, which I was slightly thankful for. It wasn't that I didn't want to reunite with my old friends; I just wasn't sure what I was supposed to say or do. I wasn't socially awkward, I just didn't know how to act around people I used to be so close to. I looked over at the teacher who was standing in front of his desk and leaning back against it. He looked over at Matt and when his eyes landed on me he gave a small smile.

"You must be the new kid, it's nice to meet you." He smiled at me and his tone was good natured. He held his hand out for me and I shook it quickly, surprised at how young he seemed. He turned to his class then, and was about to speak when someone interrupted him.

"Ashley Jenson!?"

I looked over to see who had screamed my name and saw that a blonde girl was standing up and looking at me with a huge smile on her face. She had on stylish clothes and had her hands placed on her hips. Her blue eyes were looking at me expectantly and after staring at her for a moment I wanted to laugh at myself for not recognizing her.

Caroline Forbes.

I couldn't stop the smile that crept on my face when I saw her looking at me. I waved at her awkwardly, and before I realized she had even started walking toward me she had me enveloped in a tight hug. I hugged her back and when she pulled away she kept her hands on my shoulders and started to jump up and down.

"Oh my God!" She laughed and then looked behind her, "Elena! Bonnie!" She rolled her eyes at them and then turned back to me, "I can't believe this! This is so awesome!" She hugged me again and then laughed, "I knew this year was going to be the best!"

I laughed with her and shook my head, "It's nice to see you too Caroline." I said lamely. She only laughed harder and then looked over at Mr. Saltzman, who was watching the scene and shaking his head.

He opened his mouth to say something but shut it quickly when he saw that Elena and Bonnie had jumped out of their seats and were walking towards me. I looked at them and when my eyes landed on Elena I couldn't help but feel strange – she had lost so much in such a short amount of time, I couldn't understand how she managed to smile like she was. Part of me was jealous she had it together so well, sometimes I felt like I was on the verge of breaking.

"I can't believe this!" Bonnie said as she reached Caroline's side. She hugged me quickly and when she pulled back she had a strange look on her face. She stared at me for a moment, and for some reason it almost looked like she was sorry for me. "I – wow." She shook her head and cast her eyes to the ground, "I can't believe you're back." Her voice sounded strange and she slowly put her hands to her side again, almost like she was sorry she had touched me in the first place.

" I can't either." I smiled at her and then turned to look at Elena who was staring at me while grinning. For some reason I couldn't bring myself to say anything to her – seeing her face made me feel so guilty for not staying in touch and even though it didn't seem to bother her, it was starting to bother me. How could I not reach out to someone I had been so close to when they were going through such a rough time?

She hugged me and held me for a moment. I hugged her back and still couldn't bring myself to say anything. "It's good to see you Ash." She sounded genuinely happy and when she pulled away she laughed, "Wow! I can't believe this!" Her smile reached her eyes and she looked over at Caroline, "It looked like you were right, this year has gotten better already." She looked back over at me then and winked.

"Alright, Alright." Mr. Saltzman walked toward us and then rolled his eyes, "You can have your reunion later. Now go sit down so we can start class."

Caroline dragged me to a seat that was in between her and Bonnie and sat down quickly. Her blue eyes stared at me as I sat down and when I looked over at her she had a huge grin on her face. "I still can't believe this! Why didn't you tell anyone?" She scolded me playfully and ran a hand through her hair.

"It kind of happened last minute." I admitted, and even though that was only partly true I didn't want to get into the grimy details.

"Was it a family thing or something?" Bonnie asked, and when I looked over at her, part of me believed she already knew the answer to the question she had asked.

I stuttered for a moment, "Uhh, yeah, I guess you could say that. Xavier and I moved back, he thought it'd be a nice change."

Elena looked at me with a quizzical look, "Why just you and Xavier?"

I felt the anxiety fill my chest again and I had to force my breathing to stay even, "My dad passed away two years after we moved to Atlanta…" I casted my eyes to the desk that was in front of me and then tried to shake off the feeling that was creeping on me, "and my mom's…" I tried to think of an excuse that at least let them know she wasn't around, but I came up short. "she's in a hospital."

"A hospital?" Caroline gasped and then gave me a sympathetic look, "Why?" she lowered her voice when Bonnie narrowed her eyes at her.

My heart started to race and even though I knew I could trust them, I just didn't want to talk about it. Elena must have seen the anxiety on my face because she came to my defense, "Hey, maybe we shouldn't keep distracting her? This _is_ her first day back." She smiled at me and then looked at Caroline expectantly.

"Oh! You're right, sorry!" Caroline squeaked her apology and then turned to look at Mr. Saltzman, who was looking over at us. He rolled his eyes and continued on his lecture on World War One. I glanced over at Elena and gave her a small smile, grateful she had stopped the conversation.

My mind was all over the place for the rest of the period, it was hard enough to believe that I had reunited with my old friends, but that things had changed so drastically.

Elena had grown up so much that is scared me. When we were kids she had always been fun and carefree. Now when I looked at her from the corner of my eye I saw that she was completely different. She had the same look in her eyes that Matt had, only hers was more severe. I couldn't fathom how she could still smile.

The bell rang a few moments later, bringing me out of my thoughts. I stood up and looked at the girls that surrounded me and smiled, "It's not like I'm going to disappear." I teased, trying to ease back to being myself.

Caroline gripped my arm and then grinned, "Well, just in case!" She chirped.

Elena rolled her eyes and then looked at me, "So what do you have next?" She asked while pulling out her phone.

I pulled up my back from sitting on the floor and then set it on the desk beside me. "Let's see," I mumbled while pulling out the same pink sheet of paper I had earlier while walking with Matt, "I have creative writing."

"Me too!" Elena grinned and then looked at Caroline, "Alright Care, hand her over."

"Ohhhh, do I have too?" She pouted and then looked at me, "Fine, let me see the rest of your schedule." I handed it to her and she looked it over, "Yay!" She looked up at my suddenly and the smiled, "We have English and physics together!"

I looked over and saw that Bonnie was looking at me with a strange look on her face. She caught my gaze and she gave me a small smile, "Let me see." She grabbed my schedule from Caroline and then looked it over, "We have government," She looked up and smiled at me, "and since me and Caroline have English together, we have English too!"

"Alright, enough!" Elena said while putting her phone back in her pocket, "Let's go before we're all late." She smiled at me and then stuck her tongue out at Caroline who pouted even more when she let go of my arm.

As me and Elena walked away, I still couldn't believe how easily it had been for me to fall back into step with my old friends.

* * *

"Okay, just letting you know that whenever you meet Damon, he's a total jerk and don't bother, he's in love with Elena anyway." Caroline had been coaching on what I needed to know while we were in English, and now that we were walking to lunch I had a feeling that I didn't even have the half of it.

"Alright, Damon's a jerk and off limits, got it." I quipped while following Caroline as she walked toward the outside courtyard.

"Let's see," she hummed and as we sat down she started to tap her chin, "Jeremy Gilbert is off limits, he's Bonnie's boyfriend."

I almost spit out the water I had just taken a sip of, "Bonnie and Jeremy?" I gawked at Caroline, who was only nodding her head while grinning.

"I know I couldn't believe it at first either, but anyway….ummmm," She gave me a thoughtful look and then grinned, "Matt is totally _not_ off limits." She raised an eyebrow at me and I threw my apple at her, "Okay fine, whatever, we'll see."

"A lot's changed huh?" I said while taking in all the information.

She nodded and then gave me a small smile, "You don't even know the half of it." She said while running a hand through her hair. A sparkle on her hand caught my eye and when she placed her hand on the table I saw it was a ring. She must have caught my gaze because before I could say anything she started talking about it, "Oh, my ring? Yeah, it's like…a good luck charm!" She chirped and then grinned while bringing her eyes to look up at me again.

I laughed slightly because of her rambling, "That's good I guess."

"So, are you gonna join the squad?" She was looking at me almost like she was daring at me to say no, and when I shook my head she started to pout, "But why? It'd be so fun!"

"I was never good at that Care, you know that."

"Are you _still_ interrogating her?" Bonnie's voice filled my ears and when I looked over at her she was a few feet away from us. She rolled her eyes at Caroline and then sat down. She looked over at me and then grinned, "Don't worry, it'll stop eventually."

I laughed and nodded, "It's not too bad, she's been coaching me on everything I've missed." I looked from Caroline to Bonnie and then raised a teasing eyebrow, "She also told me that _someone_ is dating Jeremy Gilbert? How did that happened?"

"I don't know…" She replied while looking over her shoulder, "It just did, I guess." She laughed a second later and then looked at me, "I know it's weird, even I'm still getting used to it."

"You're still getting used to it? What about _me?_" A voice interrupted our conversation and when I turned to see who it was I saw that it was Elena. She laughed and then sat down at the table, "Don't worry, you'll settle back into things." She looked at me then and smiled.

"Yeah, I'm getting their slowly." I replied while picking at some of the food I had gotten from the cafeteria. I thought back to what Caroline had said about Damon and then raised an eyebrow at Elena, "So, when do I get to meet Damon?" She looked at me surprised and I wiggled my eyebrows at her.

"Caroline!" Elena groaned, she shook her head, "It's not even like that, we're just friends." I rolled my eyes at her, but when I looked her in the eyes I saw that there seemed to be some underlying sadness hiding there. "He's my…" She seemed to be struggling for words, and guilt started to fill my stomach as I watched her eyes cast to the ground, suddenly though she looked up at me and smiled, almost like she hadn't been sad in the first place, "He's my ex boyfriend's brother, we're pretty close." Despite her smile she stumbled over the word 'ex boyfriend.'

"Oh, I'm sorry." I gave her a sympathetic look, "I shouldn't have said anything."

She shook her head, "No really, it's fine." She shrugged, trying to act indifferent to the situation, "Anyway, how're you settling back into things?"

I couldn't believe how selfless she was. "Um," My thoughts were starting to distract me so I pushed them away, "it's easier than I thought."

"That's good!" She exclaimed, she was about to say something when I saw that her eyes started to go in another direction. I followed her gaze and had to keep myself from gawking.

A boy that didn't look much older than me was walking toward out table. He had on a button up black shirt and black jeans. I couldn't believe how gorgeous he was, and at the same time I couldn't believe how haunted he seemed. He had light brown hair that was slicked upward in a stylish manner and his green eyes were staring straight at Elena. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Elena flinch back slightly, almost like the mere presence of him was hurting her.

"Oh God." Caroline muttered under her breath, her eyes were now looking at the boy walking over to our table. When I looked over at Bonnie I saw that she was staring at him too, except her eyes were narrowed. Caroline must have noticed that I was confused and she glanced at Elena, "ex boyfriend." She mouthed quickly, and then looked at the boy walking up.

"Having a good first day ladies?" He asked as he stopped walking. He looked over every one of us, and when his eyes landed on me he raised an eyebrow, "Who's this?" His voice sounded almost bored.

"I'm Ashley." I said bluntly, not giving anyone a chance to introduce me. He smirked at me and I narrowed my eyes slightly. Just the mere fact that I knew he had hurt Elena gave me enough reason to not want him around.

"I'm Stefan." He said while glancing at Elena, "But you probably already knew that."

I chuckled and grinned at him, "Actually you haven't even come up." I tried to keep my voice sweet and when I looked at Caroline she was smiling at me.

"What do you want Stefan?" Elena asked while looking at him, her eyes looked so pained.

"I was just coming to make sure you were safe, and to make sure the new girl wasn't going to be trouble." He said it like it was the more natural thing in the world, and I could barely believe how indifferent he was.

"I think you need to leave." Bonnie's voice suddenly broke through the tension and she glared at Stefan, "Just go away, before I make you."

He looked at Bonnie for a moment and then slowly took a few steps back, "See ya later Elena." He turned on his heel and walked away.

"God, the nerve!" Caroline shouted, she looked over at Elena and then sighed, "I'm sorry 'Lena."

"No, it's fine really." She looked over at me and then shook her head, "I'm sorry. He's…changed a lot. I promise he used to be different."

I shook my head, "You didn't do anything, its fine – seriously." I glanced back over to where Stefan had been only moments ago, "I like his brother better already." I muttered, thinking of how he had acted like I was going to be some sort of nuisance.

Caroline snorted, "I wouldn't say _that_ so soon."

Elena looked over at her, "Stop it, he's changed too, for the better."

I looked over at Bonnie who was still sitting there, almost like she didn't want any part of the conversation. She caught me staring at her and she smiled, "Where's Jeremy?" I asked, suddenly aware of his absence.

She shrugged, "I don't know, probably talking to his ex girlfriend." She must have said it before she thought about it because her eyes widened and she shook her head, "I didn't mean that." She said quickly when Elena looked over at her, "I don't know where he is, I'm sure she'll be here soon."

I couldn't help but feel that there was a lot I didn't know about.

* * *

_I hope that you liked the first chapter. I know that as of right now it's probably boring but I wanted to introduce the characters and actually map out a story. Please review if you get a chance._

_-C_


End file.
